Ray Allen finally showing signs of form for the Boston Celtics– NBA Playoff Update
Even with the Boston Celtics making to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, one thing that has been missing from these performances is the consistency to knock down three’s and a major part of that quagmire has
been Ray Allen’s dip in form, a rarity in his 16 year career.
However dropping down two daggers at the crucial stages of the fourth quarter in the decider against the Philadelphia 76ers has definitely gotten his confidence up.
Throughout the night, Philadelphia opted to leave Allen by himself and getting his man to double team on other players but when it mattered the most, Ray made the Phillies pay.
"I had some great looks tonight, probably the best I've seen so far this postseason. I wish I had some back," said Allen, "It's almost like I needed the fourth quarter ... I love to get to that point, you focus a little more. But
they go in when they counted."
Throughout the post season, Allen has struggled to find his shooting rhythm from long range and had been stuck in a slump lately. But he came through in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals and scored 8 of his 11 points
in the final quarter to help his team secure a win.
Allen is the most proficient shooter from long range in NBA history, but ever since being troubled by ankle injury (bone spurs) he has been a shadow of himself. The injury caused him to miss the last nine games of the regular
season and the first two of Boston’s playoff opening series against the Atlanta Hawks.
In Game-1 of this series against the Sixers, Allen attempted 7 threes and only managed 2. In Game-2, he could only manage 2 of 6 from beyond the arc and the woes continued in Game-3, in which he did not even get a single attempt
up from long range, finishing the night with 3 points, his worst ever playoffs performance.
The fourth game of the series did not help him finding his shooting touch. He attempted 4 threes and only made 1 of them in that contest and in Game -5 and 6, he combined to shooting 2 of 10 from long range.
He had also missed the first five attempts in Game-7 before finally getting one to go which boosted his confidence majorly and the C’s will be hoping that the trend continues against the Heat.
Allen had been struggling and was even reluctant to shoot in the final stages of the third period which got him a telling of from Doc Rivers that he cannot pass up open looks.
Ray finally pulled the trigger in the fourth quarter when he found himself all alone in the corner at the 9:51 mark. He went on to knock down another triple at the 5:51 mark before finally getting his final two points of the night
from the free throw line.
The level of trust shown by the Celtics team in Allen`s shooting was a major factor in getting him out of the slump and Rivers is h**l bent to get the most out of his sharp-shooter come the East Finals;
"Ray is the ultimate gunslinger You know, I was a basketball player one day. And I would've never taken that shot late in the game like Ray, after missing my first (five). First of all, I wouldn't have been in. It was just impressive.
You felt like if he got a shot - I didn't know if he was going to make it, but I knew he was going to take it."
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